CUNY experiments with new Harlem school

On Nov. 16, the CUNY Newswire announced that CUNY began construction of the School of Public Health at Hunter College.

The institution, which will be located in East Harlem, is part of CUNY's billion-dollar investment in mathematics, engineering, biology and other sciences, according to The New York Observer.

CUNY intends to initiate additional building and renovation projects at other senior colleges, like Brooklyn, Lehman, Hunter and City, as well, according to Examiner.com.

Approximately 100 full-time faculty members, who specialize in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, have been hired, said examiner.com.

The new School of Public Health will be housed alongside the Lois V. and Samuel J. Silberman School of Social Work and Hunter Colleges' Centro de Estudios Puertorriquenos.

The new building will be eight stories high and will be a spacious 147,000 square feet. It will be located on Third Avenue between East 118th and 119th Streets.

A partnership between CUNY, Hunter College, the Lois V. and Samuel J. Silberman Fund from the New York Community Trust and the Brodsky Organization made the building's construction possible.

According to the CUNY news release, CUNY's School of Public Health is scheduled to open in 2010-2011 and will offer masters and doctoral programs. It holds the distinction of being the only school of public health in the United States that focuses on urban issues.

The school will concentrate on discovering new ways to prevent and control health problems while training its students to execute these solutions in New York City and other urban centers.

The School of Public Health intends to offer community-based doctoral and masters degrees in epidemiology, biostatistics, social and behavioral science, healthcare administration and policy, environmental health, and other specific undergraduate degrees.

Kenneth Olden, the first African-American cancer researcher to direct one of the National Institutes of Health, will head it, according to Subramny.

"Life-changing careers for students and pioneering research will emanate from this enterprise, bringing multiple educational, economic, and societal benefits to the neighborhood, to the City and to our State," said CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein in the CUNY Newswire.

Ultimately, graduates of the School of Public Health will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle the serious health care problems faced by the poor, minorities and immigrants, according to the CUNY Newswire.

According to The New York Observer, it will also encourage economic progress in East Harlem and in other areas that are in need of new opportunities.